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Joel & Heather Pitman Interview
The following mission may not be God’s calling for everyone, but it does follow the Great Commission. I met Rev. Joel Pitman and his wife Heather unexpectedly (although I am always expecting God’s manifestation) one Sunday morning, at my away church in Voorhees NJ.
Joel is originally from San Diego California. Heather is from Upstate New York. The two and their family currently reside (so to speak) in Aston Oklahoma. I sat in the pastor’s office, in NJ, listening to their story, as it was since June 5 of 2017—7 weeks earlier. They have been traveling, on the road, spreading the gospel from campsite to campsite. And, these are not “Christian” campsite specifically, but random campsites—Federal, State, National Parks. I posed that their approach may be a little different from what many Christian adherents in America would employ as spreading the gospel. In response, Joel cited, “Jesus never preached in a building. He preached out in the wilderness and that's how I'm doing it. We know where he stands when we sleep in a tent and have an outdoor campsite. We don't have a fancy motorhome---although that's being prayed for. Paul did it that way. I'm no better than Paul.” |
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The missionary couple don’t travel alone. They journey with their three kids (7, almost 6, 2 and a half), a service dog, and two therapy ferrets.
“So Jesus told you to go on the road, to bring the whole family in a vehicle, and to travel from camp to camp, I asked?
“Well that's the Great Commission, responded Joel. Isn’t it to spread the gospel to every living creature? How can you get out there and do it, without getting out there.”
Their methodology was also basic. “We just park," said Joel. "We put up our tent, we meet people, and we would talk to them about Jesus.”
Heather, who labels herself a military brat, says, “My husband, who has been sober for over four years, got to talk with a guy who had been sober for four years, but fell off the wagon when he got married. He was struggling with drinking again.”
“I told him," said Joel, “man you need to pick a higher power that actually has power. You know Jesus Christ is the only one who has power as the Son of God. Everywhere, everything else is a false hope and power.”
The couple has been married for three and a half years. In addition to their grassroots evangelism, Joel is currently a student at Oral Robert University and the Oklahoma Berean School of Ministry. He is ordained independently and working on being ordained through the Assembly of God churches. It was obvious to me that there had to be some type of marital agreement to undergo such an assignment. They attest that the calling came simultaneously to both of them from the Holy Spirit.
“So Jesus told you to go on the road, to bring the whole family in a vehicle, and to travel from camp to camp, I asked?
“Well that's the Great Commission, responded Joel. Isn’t it to spread the gospel to every living creature? How can you get out there and do it, without getting out there.”
Their methodology was also basic. “We just park," said Joel. "We put up our tent, we meet people, and we would talk to them about Jesus.”
Heather, who labels herself a military brat, says, “My husband, who has been sober for over four years, got to talk with a guy who had been sober for four years, but fell off the wagon when he got married. He was struggling with drinking again.”
“I told him," said Joel, “man you need to pick a higher power that actually has power. You know Jesus Christ is the only one who has power as the Son of God. Everywhere, everything else is a false hope and power.”
The couple has been married for three and a half years. In addition to their grassroots evangelism, Joel is currently a student at Oral Robert University and the Oklahoma Berean School of Ministry. He is ordained independently and working on being ordained through the Assembly of God churches. It was obvious to me that there had to be some type of marital agreement to undergo such an assignment. They attest that the calling came simultaneously to both of them from the Holy Spirit.
“We were in church. We were praising and worshipping God when he kind of spoke to me," said Heather. "I mean Joel had been talking about it for a while. We just kind of knew that right now we had to do is this. What’s more important than saving souls?”
Joel concurred. “It was definitely a joint decision. We kind of came about it the same time. We had been looking for an RV to buy. I told Jesus, you know, I wanted to go out doing this by the day of Pentecost (2017). If I have an RV, or not, I will be doing it in a tent. The Day of Pentecost came and I have a tent.” Although trusting God for every provision, the couple gleans from several small streams of income that I chose not to disclose in this article. |
“He provides everything we need. It’s not like he's given us an abundance of everything. He gives us the daily manna of the Old Testament. We get what we need when we need it. We don't get excess. We don't have a lot of extras. We kind of took a vow of poverty about a year ago. We’re not wanting all this world-stuff that everybody else is running around with. I mean, we got nice stuff, but it's not top of the line everything."
"The first month, we got to the last campground, said Heather, we had 150 bucks in our pocket. The campground cost 111 dollars. So it left us $40 to last the week for food. I mean, we had food, but we were still hungry. Somebody at the campground that night had all these extra hot dogs. They told us, we don't need them, take them home."
"I mean this is something that manifests in our lives all the time. We arrive here in New Jersey with three dollars in our pocket and then some refunds came back from buying some prescriptions that we canceled. We end up with $60 plus the next day. When we need it, it’s there. It’s crazy how he does things for us all."
I was trying to convince the couple to set up a webpage, PayPal, or Go Fund Me so that others could sow into or partner with their missionary ministry. I shared about Paul and the church at Phillipi. Although they listened and would pray about it, Heather said.
“If you're going to give, give it to somebody who needs it. Give to the neighbor who's about to run out of electric. Give to someone you know or somebody you don’t. Give it to people in your community who need it.”
“Let me share my awesome God story, said Heather, excitedly. We’re driving down the road and our tire pops. It’s completely destroyed. We just bought this tire before we left. It’s barely 30 days old. So we pop on the spare and keep on going a little down the road when our trailer drops. We’re thinking, the other tire popped. We just used the old spare tire that came with the trailer."
"Now mind you this trailer is a 73. So the tires on there are like 44 years old. So these are old tires. We pull over. It didn't pop. The rim cracked and slid off the axle. So now, we have two tires that are shot. We detached the trailer and go to Walmart that's conveniently right next to us."
"We walk in. The staff was so friendly and helped us out. First, we go to get a new tire. The shelf label says $79. We bring it to the register and it registers $26. Joel immediately gets a second one."
"I'm sitting there with this tire, about 30 days old, blown, worth $79, with no receipt. So I go to customer service to see what can be done. They tell me I have to go back to the auto section to return it. So I head back there and they were awesome. She had to look through and find a couple of tires, to find the right one. And then, they put it back on a Wal-Mart card. I got $87. So, not only did we not have to buy two new $79 tires, but I got money back, plus the tax, from the tire that was blown.”
“So we were able to share with the manager of the tire department, added Joel, what we were doing. He would have blessed our ministry, although it was already done in their system.”
Heather continued, "Joel went to fix the trailer. While he was pulling the tire, he noticed the air was low. He looked for the air pump, but couldn't find it. Just as he was about to empty the trailer, the state roadside assistance pulled up and pumped up the tire. Praise the Lord! He is good!”
“He didn’t have to do that, said Joel, sweat-less victory. God is always on our side of the highway.”
"The first month, we got to the last campground, said Heather, we had 150 bucks in our pocket. The campground cost 111 dollars. So it left us $40 to last the week for food. I mean, we had food, but we were still hungry. Somebody at the campground that night had all these extra hot dogs. They told us, we don't need them, take them home."
"I mean this is something that manifests in our lives all the time. We arrive here in New Jersey with three dollars in our pocket and then some refunds came back from buying some prescriptions that we canceled. We end up with $60 plus the next day. When we need it, it’s there. It’s crazy how he does things for us all."
I was trying to convince the couple to set up a webpage, PayPal, or Go Fund Me so that others could sow into or partner with their missionary ministry. I shared about Paul and the church at Phillipi. Although they listened and would pray about it, Heather said.
“If you're going to give, give it to somebody who needs it. Give to the neighbor who's about to run out of electric. Give to someone you know or somebody you don’t. Give it to people in your community who need it.”
“Let me share my awesome God story, said Heather, excitedly. We’re driving down the road and our tire pops. It’s completely destroyed. We just bought this tire before we left. It’s barely 30 days old. So we pop on the spare and keep on going a little down the road when our trailer drops. We’re thinking, the other tire popped. We just used the old spare tire that came with the trailer."
"Now mind you this trailer is a 73. So the tires on there are like 44 years old. So these are old tires. We pull over. It didn't pop. The rim cracked and slid off the axle. So now, we have two tires that are shot. We detached the trailer and go to Walmart that's conveniently right next to us."
"We walk in. The staff was so friendly and helped us out. First, we go to get a new tire. The shelf label says $79. We bring it to the register and it registers $26. Joel immediately gets a second one."
"I'm sitting there with this tire, about 30 days old, blown, worth $79, with no receipt. So I go to customer service to see what can be done. They tell me I have to go back to the auto section to return it. So I head back there and they were awesome. She had to look through and find a couple of tires, to find the right one. And then, they put it back on a Wal-Mart card. I got $87. So, not only did we not have to buy two new $79 tires, but I got money back, plus the tax, from the tire that was blown.”
“So we were able to share with the manager of the tire department, added Joel, what we were doing. He would have blessed our ministry, although it was already done in their system.”
Heather continued, "Joel went to fix the trailer. While he was pulling the tire, he noticed the air was low. He looked for the air pump, but couldn't find it. Just as he was about to empty the trailer, the state roadside assistance pulled up and pumped up the tire. Praise the Lord! He is good!”
“He didn’t have to do that, said Joel, sweat-less victory. God is always on our side of the highway.”
Their most memorable experience, according to Heather, who acknowledge, in the marriage, though Joel was the preacher, she was the storyteller.
“Praying for the lady. We met this lady. She was 35 years old. She has cerebral palsy and degenerative brain disease. Her mother, an older lady, had been taking care of her daughter for the last 35 years. Her father wanted to institutionalize her. Her mother and two sisters took care of her, the youngest brother helped. Imagine taking care of a 35-year-old from 18 months to over 35 years that could wear anybody out." |
"I didn't know what to pray for. I'm praying for a combined healing. While it's completely possible with God, no doubt in my mind, whatsoever---I don't think that's what he was getting at, because the Holy Spirit was talking to me. I told him when I walked up. I don't know what to pray for. I just let the Holy Spirit move."
"We just prayed an uplifting for her. We prayed for God to take care of everything. Just to see the weight come off her (the mother's) shoulders, it was like God gave her exactly what she needed to hear. And the daughter, who functions on an 18-month-old level, wasn't saying anything. You could just see it was depressing her. I just looked at her. I said don't worry about it. This body that we have in this life, it doesn't mean anything. When we go with Jesus, we get a perfect body and that's about it. She just smiled. It was a praise to God.”
“God is putting you in the right place, at the right time. Speaking of that, how do you get to New Jersey,” I asked?
“We have family here, said Heather. My Aunt Paula's here. God didn't care where we went. He was like---go anywhere.”
“Like Star Trek," I responded? I couldn’t resist.
“We had a lot of family we haven't seen for years, said Joel. So we said, since we're doing this, we might as well incorporate family in the trip, so we can see them too. So, we decided to head from Oklahoma to Upstate New York, where my dad is. So going down from New York, New Jersey, and Washington, we’ll head back across to Oklahoma. It’s like this huge three and a half months trip.”
The family has traveled randomly in the last few years going west. Joel says being from the West Coast they always find their way back to California. They confess they know almost ever westward route. This year was also the opportunity to see something different.
“Like a sower scattering seeds,” I suggested.
To the Voice of One question of who is Jesus Christ in their life, the two modern-day pilgrims surrendered.
“My Lord and Savior," said Joel. He's the reason I wake up in the morning. He’s the reason I'm alive today. Without him, I would be a drunken alcoholic and drug addict. That’s where I came out of. He pulled me up and out. I was like walking on the sand. I was on quicksand. I was in quicksand up to my neck, and couldn’t breathe when he grabbed a hold of me.”
“He’s my everything," inserted Heather. "He's why I do what I do. It’s like spending time with some of my family members who are struggling with their life. You know some are struggling because they haven't seen him manifest himself. I'm so lucky. I get to see God manifest himself almost on a daily basis in my life."
The two restate how they ended up across from me in the interview.
“We sat in a Wal-Mart parking lot because we didn't have a campground. The campgrounds we tried to stay in weren’t working for us. From there, he got us here to family, I haven't seen in 10 years. They invited us to their house. It’s just crazy how it's worked out. He plans everything."
It was the aunt that attends The Meeting House Church in Voorhees, Pastor Daryl, and Shirley Farrar.
“Same thing last year," said Joel. "We were left with just enough money for gas to get to her house and that was it. He blessed us the next day. The refunds from our tires. It’s crazy. It’s all because he wanted us here, you know. He does that kind of stuff all the time. It’s like nothing works out and you get super frustrated. Finally, you say, well obviously God doesn't want me to go ahead here.”
“Like the message, today, about being persecuted, said Joel, the preacher. We've been persecuted recently, but in that persecution, we were able to glorify him. That's the purpose I believe. You know, I was given all these gifts because of grace. I don't deserve any of it. I try to repay, payback and pay forward. I try to pay forward to somebody who doesn't think they deserve it. I want them to know, if Jesus loves you, you deserve it.”
"We just prayed an uplifting for her. We prayed for God to take care of everything. Just to see the weight come off her (the mother's) shoulders, it was like God gave her exactly what she needed to hear. And the daughter, who functions on an 18-month-old level, wasn't saying anything. You could just see it was depressing her. I just looked at her. I said don't worry about it. This body that we have in this life, it doesn't mean anything. When we go with Jesus, we get a perfect body and that's about it. She just smiled. It was a praise to God.”
“God is putting you in the right place, at the right time. Speaking of that, how do you get to New Jersey,” I asked?
“We have family here, said Heather. My Aunt Paula's here. God didn't care where we went. He was like---go anywhere.”
“Like Star Trek," I responded? I couldn’t resist.
“We had a lot of family we haven't seen for years, said Joel. So we said, since we're doing this, we might as well incorporate family in the trip, so we can see them too. So, we decided to head from Oklahoma to Upstate New York, where my dad is. So going down from New York, New Jersey, and Washington, we’ll head back across to Oklahoma. It’s like this huge three and a half months trip.”
The family has traveled randomly in the last few years going west. Joel says being from the West Coast they always find their way back to California. They confess they know almost ever westward route. This year was also the opportunity to see something different.
“Like a sower scattering seeds,” I suggested.
To the Voice of One question of who is Jesus Christ in their life, the two modern-day pilgrims surrendered.
“My Lord and Savior," said Joel. He's the reason I wake up in the morning. He’s the reason I'm alive today. Without him, I would be a drunken alcoholic and drug addict. That’s where I came out of. He pulled me up and out. I was like walking on the sand. I was on quicksand. I was in quicksand up to my neck, and couldn’t breathe when he grabbed a hold of me.”
“He’s my everything," inserted Heather. "He's why I do what I do. It’s like spending time with some of my family members who are struggling with their life. You know some are struggling because they haven't seen him manifest himself. I'm so lucky. I get to see God manifest himself almost on a daily basis in my life."
The two restate how they ended up across from me in the interview.
“We sat in a Wal-Mart parking lot because we didn't have a campground. The campgrounds we tried to stay in weren’t working for us. From there, he got us here to family, I haven't seen in 10 years. They invited us to their house. It’s just crazy how it's worked out. He plans everything."
It was the aunt that attends The Meeting House Church in Voorhees, Pastor Daryl, and Shirley Farrar.
“Same thing last year," said Joel. "We were left with just enough money for gas to get to her house and that was it. He blessed us the next day. The refunds from our tires. It’s crazy. It’s all because he wanted us here, you know. He does that kind of stuff all the time. It’s like nothing works out and you get super frustrated. Finally, you say, well obviously God doesn't want me to go ahead here.”
“Like the message, today, about being persecuted, said Joel, the preacher. We've been persecuted recently, but in that persecution, we were able to glorify him. That's the purpose I believe. You know, I was given all these gifts because of grace. I don't deserve any of it. I try to repay, payback and pay forward. I try to pay forward to somebody who doesn't think they deserve it. I want them to know, if Jesus loves you, you deserve it.”
Joel and Heather Pitman can currently be reached on Facebook at Heather Pitman